Med Art Honored as GTLA Preferred Partner!

Med Art is honored to be invited to become a "Preferred Partner" with the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association! We have been proud to serve the trial lawyers of Georgia for the past 5 years!

In July, 2004, Med Art opened a full service production office in the Atlanta area, providing case review and presentation stragedies, the creation of exhibits, animations and interactive presentations. Additionally we provide trial presentation services for medication or trial.

Contact Southeast Office: ShelleyWatts@med-art.com

Contact Northeast Office: PatMurphy@med-art.com

Farewell Mr. Kennedy

Sen. Kennedy was a friend of the same individuals our country’s trial attorneys are fighting for: the victims. He was committed to protecting our nation’s legal system and was dedicated to social justice. He fought for those injured in the workplace or by unsafe products. He staunchly supported health care reform for all Americans. Sen. Kennedy’s distinguished career in the U.S. Senate will stand forever as a model of compassionate leadership.

“For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.” – Sen. Edward M. Kennedy

Malpractice suits not to blame for high health care costs

As attorneys, you are needed to speak for the thousands of Americans who die or are injured due to medical negligence. Med Art & Legal Graphics Co. can help you get justices for your clients with our compelling exhibits and persuasive trial presentations. To learn more about our full range of services, visit www.med-art.com.

Published: August 19, 2009 3:00 a.m.

Letter (Web version): Malpractice suits not to blame for health care costs

Sen. Mitch McConnell calls them “junk lawsuits.” Rep Mike Pence calls them “runaway jury awards.” Either way, Republicans pin colossal hopes for health care reform on the bugaboo – tort reform.

Four of 10 medical malpractice cases are groundless, thus dismissed in court. That means six of 10 involve plaintiffs, lives unalterably changed, who deserve an opportunity to be made whole.

According to the Institute of Medicine, between 44,000 and 98,000 Americans die yearly of avoidable errors. Yet fewer than 11,000 were compensated in 2008, down from 15,000 in 1999.

The National Practitioner Data Bank found the average U.S. malpractice payment for 2008 was $326,000, “the smallest on record”– hardly a runaway jury award. Eighty percent of that money went to those with significant permanent injuries such as quadriplegia and brain damage, needing health care the remainder of their lives and having enormous medical expenses. These are junk lawsuits?

Medicare’s administrator told Congress in 2005, that malpractice litigation accounts for only 0.6 percent of U.S. health care costs, and medical liability accounts for less than 1 percent of the country’s health care costs with “the vast majority of victims receiving no compensation whatsoever.”

Recently, Americans for Insurance Reform found that medical malpractice premiums amount to one-half of 1 percent of health care costs and medical malpractice claims, one-fifth of 1 percent of health care costs.

Tort reform, without a public option to compete with for-profit private insurers, is a toothless GOP health care reform component.

JULIA K. GOUVEIA Muncie

Copyright © 2009 The Journal Gazette.

INSTANT Case Presentation!!

One of the electronic tools attorneys seem to have no problem embracing in a trial setting are PowerPoint presentations. A tool like Trial Director seems to be so scary. But scary no more! A tool like Presentation Scripts allows for PowerPoint-like functionality in the court room, only with all Trial Director's bells and whistles! This function allows you to organize your exhibits in the order you wish to present them, save them, then display them one-by-one in the courtroom with a single-click of the space bar! Here's how you do it:

Create a workbook and populate it with the exhibits you wish to present, then organize them in the order you want to present them in. Right-click on the workbook and find Send Workbook Contents to Presentation Script. You only have two options: 1) Give it a name and/or 2) have each slide advance automatically every [x] amount of seconds. Click OK. Remember what you called it, as there is no indication anywhere that you just did this. Go to presentation mode. Type in the name of your presentation script (just like you would any exhibit) and hit enter. Voila! Your first exhibit is displayed, and advances every time you hit the space bar (except where you've entered a number of seconds for an automatic slide advance). Note: This functionality works in both 4.x and 5.x versions. In 4.x, you work with Folders rather than Workbooks, but the process is the same.

Withholding Abnormal Test Results?

Abnormal results weren't shared 6% of the time.

How often are patients not informed about abnormal test results? To find out, researchers retrospectively reviewed records for more than 5400 outpatients (age range, 50–69) who were treated at 23 U.S. primary care practices. Randomly selected records were examined for results of 11 blood tests and 3 screening tests (e.g., abnormal mammogram finding, serum potassium level <3.0>5.5 mEq/L). Physicians were given the opportunity to state whether they actually had notified patients but had failed to document that notification.

A total of 1889 abnormal test results were identified; in 117 instances (6%), patients were not notified. Practices with established processes for handling test results (i.e., all results are routed to the responsible physician; physician signs off on all results) had lower failure-to-inform rates than those without such processes, but rates were not lower in clinics with electronic medical record (EMR) systems than in those without such systems.

Comment: In this retrospective study, 6% of the time, patients were not notified about markedly abnormal test results. Notably, practices with established processes for handling test results had lower failure-to-inform rates; the presence of an EMR did not lower this rate.

Jamaluddin Moloo, MD, MPH

Published in Journal Watch General Medicine July 23, 2009Citation(s):Casalino LP et al. Frequency of failure to inform patients of clinically significant outpatient test results.Arch Intern Med 2009 Jun 22; 169:1123.

How Do You Highlight This FAILURE in Your Case?

Med Art & Legal Graphics would use their 40+ years of combined years of graphically representing complex medical situations to create a Timeline which would clearly represent a "What is Told to the Patient" section and a "What is Withheld from the Patient" section. This is a very concise way for the audience to see what was left out of the story. For more information on how to best "Illustrate" your case click here to see Med art's web site.

Vertebroplasty No Better Than Sham Procedure in Osteoporotic Fractures

Two placebo-controlled trials of vertebroplasty find no added benefit in pain relief or quality of life. The studies appear in theNew England Journal of Medicine.

In both studies, patients with painful osteoporotic vertebral fractures underwent randomization to either vertebroplasty or a sham procedure.

Among some 80 Australian patients in the first study, there were no differences between the groups in overall pain improvement at the 3-month mark, the primary outcome measure.

Similarly, in the second study, some 130 patients from the U.S., U.K., and Australia underwent randomization and subsequent follow-up for clinical improvement at the 1-month mark. Again, no significant differences were found.

An editorialist says the results may consign vertebroplasty to being considered "no better than placebo." And in Journal Watch General Medicine, Dr. Allan S. Brett writes that unless studies can identify a subgroup of patients who benefit from it, the procedure "should be viewed skeptically." http://firstwatch.jwatch.org/cgi/content/full/2009/806/1

How Do You Highlight This?

Med Art & Legal Graphics would use their 40+ years of combined years of illustrating medical procedures to create "Normal" anatomy to educate the viewer, then illustrate the surgical procedure in question. After the viewer is educated the results of the study are easy to understand. For more information on how to best "Illustrate" your case click here to see Med art's web site.

Pharmaceutical Company Paid Ghostwriters to Draft Journal Articles Supporting Hormone Therapy

The New York Times reports that Wyeth paid ghostwriters to draft 26 journal articles emphasizing the benefits of hormone replacement therapy — and de-emphasizing the risks. The articles, published from 1998 to 2005 in 18 medical journals, were mainly review articles, and they did not fully disclose the ghostwriters' extensive contributions. For the entire article.

How Do You Highlight This?

Med Art and Legal Graphics would use a Trial Presentation software and project the ghostwriter's articles on a large screen (4x6 foot large). Then Visually compare the article's Fraudulent statements to the FDA's List of Risk Factors with Hormone Replacement Therapy. For more information on how make your case crystal clear to your audience contact us. Med Art & Legal Graphics Co.

South Carolina Association for Justice

South Carolina Association of Justice Annual Convention - 8/6/2009

Med Art & Legal Graphics will have an awesome Raffle Item for the SCTLA Members to win! Come by our booth and see our NEW Interactive PDF presentations!!! THEY ARE COST EFFECTIVE- EXTREMELY EASY TO USE!

Hilton Head, South Carolina

Med Art's Medical Expertise includes being up-to-date on the most recent medical data for patient care, the risks and the standards of care. While consulting on Gastric Bypass cases we found the following:
Perioperative Complications with Bariatric Surgery
Patients need to balance benefits and risks associated with each type of weight-loss surgery. Patients who are considering bariatric surgery must weigh short-term risks of surgery against long-term benefits of weight loss. Comment: These results are consistent with other published data. Patients face several trade-offs when they choose among bariatric procedures: In a recent systematic review, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass conferred greater long-term weight loss than did laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding, at the expense of higher perioperative complication rates; however, beyond 30 days, complication rates (e.g., obstruction or reoperation) actually became higher with adjustable banding than with Roux-en-Y
(JW Gen Med Nov 13 2008).
— Allan S. Brett, MD
Published in Journal Watch General Medicine July 30, 2009
To see more Medical Illustrations of Gastric Bypass and other types of Abdominal Surgeries Click Here.

What Do Colors Really Mean?

Below is an article by Susan Gunelius on color branding, it applies to the use of color on exhibits. Think about what the color you use in exhibits, because color can Help and Hinder.

Color Branding: The Meanings Behind Colors

August 14, 2007 by Susan Gunelius

Blue: Cool blue is perceived as trustworthy, dependable, fiscally responsible and secure. Strongly associated with the sky and sea, blue is serene and universally well-liked. Blue is an especially popular color with financial institutions, as its message of stability inspires trust.

Red: Red activates your pituitary gland, increasing your heart rate and causing you to breathe more rapidly. This visceral response makes red aggressive, energetic, provocative and attention-grabbing. Count on red to evoke a passionate response, albeit not always a favorable one. For example, red can represent danger or indebtedness.

Green: In general, green connotes health, freshness and serenity. However, green’s meaning varies with its many shades. Deeper greens are associated with wealth or prestige, while light greens are calming.

Yellow: In every society, yellow is associated with the sun. Thus, it communicates optimism, positivism, light and warmth. Certain shades seem to motivate and stimulate creative thought and energy. The eye sees bright yellows before any other color, making them great for point-of-purchase displays.

Purple: Purple is a color favored by creative types. With its blend of passionate red and tranquil blue, it evokes mystery, sophistication, spirituality and royalty. Lavender evokes nostalgia and sentimentality.

Pink: Pink’s message varies by intensity. Hot pinks convey energy, youthfulness, fun and excitement and are recommended for less expensive or trendy products for women or girls. Dusty pinks appear sentimental. Lighter pinks are more romantic.

Orange: Cheerful orange evokes exuberance, fun and vitality. With the drama of red plus the cheer of yellow, orange is viewed as gregarious and often childlike. Research indicates its lighter shades appeal to an upscale market. Peach tones work well with healthcare, restaurants and beauty salons.

Brown: This earthy color conveys simplicity, durability and stability. It can also elicit a negative response from consumers who relate to it as dirty. Certain shades of brown, like terracotta, can convey an upscale look. From a functional perspective, brown tends to hide dirt, making it a logical choice for some trucking and industrial companies.

Black: Black is serious, bold, powerful and classic. It creates drama and connotes sophistication. Black works well for expensive products, but can also make a product look heavy.

White: White connotes simplicity, cleanliness and purity. The human eye views white as a brilliant color, so it immediately catches the eye in signage. White is often used with infant and health-related products.

http://www.bizzia.com/brandcurve/color-branding-the-meanings-behind-colors/